Snow place I'd rather be
by Natta11
Summary: Christmas is coming alongside with a portion of negative emotions for Chat. Will Labybug be able to cheer him up when she finds out on one of their patrols? And will their relationship change after this particular night?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! Here is a Christmas themed fanfic for you all.**

* * *

Hundreds and thousands of tiny snowflakes are dancing through the chilly winter air; hovering above the city before landing softly onto the frozen ground. People are shielding themselves from the cold, hiding their faces in knitted scarves, turning away from the wind. Children are playing in the snow, laughing and building snowmen; adults are sitting on the benches nearby watching over their kids. Every single parent is so very proud of their little Jim or Alice, admiring their snowman, no matter how imperfect and faulty it is. The don't mind that the snowman's left hand is much bigger than the other, or that it's head is tilled to the side and is almost falling down. They don't mind at all, they just love their children and they are simply so proud of them.

There's a boy walking along one of the sidewalks, too old to play in the snow but too young to have someone to watch over. He just stands there awkwardly, wishing he was one of those careless children, just playing and having fun, wishing his parents were proud of him. Well, with his mother gone, just his father. But he could never be worthy of that, always just a disappointment, a failure. He's used to hearing that. He's used to being that - a disappointment. Or at least thinking he is. He does everything his father wants him to, yet it is never enough. He is never enough.

Hours later, when the sky starts to darken, he's still there, still watching his surroundings. But there are no children anymore; the only proof they were ever there being the snowmen built all over the park. When the last person disappears in the distance he sighs heavily. He's shivering with cold, though he is wrapped tightly in his coat, his cheeks are red, his lips chapped.

"Let's go home, Adrien," says a quiet voice from inside his pocket. When he says nothing in return, the small black creature flies out.

"Plagg…" is the only thing Adrien manages to whisper. His voice is sad and broken, nothing the little kwami is used to and that worries him. A lot. Even though Adrien never had an easy life, he somehow managed to remain his happy self. Being Chat Noir, the Parisian superhero probably helped a lot, both Plagg and Adrien know that. So when after a while Adrien says: "Plagg, claws out!" the little black kwami sighs. But it's a sigh of relief.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of Paris, a certain blue haired girl is talking to her own kwami.

"But, Tikki…" she starts, only to be interrupted by the cheerful and always optimistic red kwami.

"Don't worry, Marinette," she says while flying around her in circles, "Chat will love the bracelet, I'm sure of that. He'd love any present, even if it's just a simple sugar cookie."

"You think?" Marinette asks uncertainly from where she's sitting on the floor. In her hands, there is the delicate silver bracelet, a Christmas present for her friend and partner Chat Noir. From the thin chain hangs a small circle pendant with exactly five tiny dots. It has the same pattern as her yoyo.

Tikki stops circling around her charger and sits on Marinette's knee. She forces Marinette to look at her, and then she declares with absolute certainty: "Chat will absolutely love it, because you're the one giving it to him. He'll love it because he loves you."

"Tikki!" shouts Marinette, shocked by what her kwami just said.

"But it's true, Marinette," says Tikki, once again flying up into the air when Marinette stands up and starts pacing up and down the room. After a minute of thinking, Marinette says with a frown: "He doesn't love me, he loves Ladybug." Tikki shakes her head and opens her mouth to say something, probably to oppose her charger, but before she can say anything at all, Marinette blurts out: "No, Tikki, don't… I know what you're going to say – that I am Ladybug -, but don't. I…"

"I know it's hard, being both Marinette and Ladybug," interrupts Tikki, "and I know that sometimes you feel like they're two different people, that they are not alike at all. But they are you. You are you… Anyways, Marinette, you're still yourself even when you're Ladybug. You cannot separate Ladybug and Marinette because they are the same person. Does that make any sense to you?"

"Actually, it does," says Marinette with a smile. But then she looks at the clock and her smiles disappears. It's already half past nine and she's late for patrol. She takes a deep breath and yells: "Tikki, spots on!"

* * *

On her way to their usual meeting spot, she passes around the park. She sees all the funny shaped snowmen and laughs to herself. Building snowmen must be fun, she assumes. She hasn't built one for years. She smiles happily at the memories and continues in her route. She notices those white snowflakes once again falling from the now dark sky.

"It's snowing," she says cheerfully while jumping from one building to another. At first, she didn't like the idea of snow under her feet. She thought she would slip on it and fall, but she soon discovered there's nothing to be worried about. Regardless the snow or ice, she always landed perfectly. Maybe it was her suit that helped her deal with the slippery surface and maybe she was just so used to jumping on the rooftops, but it felt easier than walking.

From above she watched the city, admiring its beauty. Everything was covered in white, hidden under a thick layer of snow. Paris was simply beautiful at night. And especially during Christmas time.

* * *

When she finally arrives on top of the Eiffel Tower, Chat's already there, waiting for her. He's facing away from her, watching the city just like she did just a while ago.

"Good evening, Chaton," she greets him with a smile. She prepares herself for his awful puns, for his flirtatious comments, simply for anything and everything he could possibly say, but instead of: "Good evening to you too, My Lady. Isn't today's weather absolutely _purrfect_? There's _snow_ way you don't like it!", he simply says: "Hi."

Something's wrong, something's terribly wrong. The Chat Noir she knows wouldn't miss a chance to throw a pun. But the one in front of her just did.

"Chat?" she asks hesitantly while taking a step towards him, "are you okay?" She lays her hand on his shoulder and she can feel his heavy exhale.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says, looking at the ground, "I was just thinking."

But he doesn't sound or look okay, not at all. His shoulders are tense, his hair messier than usual – probably from running his hands through it many times – and when he lifts his gaze to look at Ladybug, she can see sadness in his eyes.

"Kitty," she whispers, taking both of his hands into hers. She steps closer and looks up at her partner. But before she can say or do anything, Chat pulls her into a tight hug. At first, she just stands still, not sure how to react, but then after a few seconds, she wraps her hands around Chat's neck bringing him even closer to her. He lets out a shaky exhale and buries his face in Ladybug's neck. She runs her hand through his disheveled hair and whispers softly: "Don't worry, Kitty, everything will be alright. I promise."

Oh, how he wants to believe her.

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 **I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long. Here's another chapter.**

* * *

Ladybug pulls away from their embrace to look at her partner, only to realize she does not recognize the boy standing in front of her.  
Sure, he has Chat's emerald eyes and his messy blonde hair, he even has his cat ears but looking at him in the dim light, she can't bring herself to believe this troubled boy is her silly kitty.

"M'lady?" he asks quietly, interrupting Ladybug's train of thoughts. She looks up at him and when her eyes find his face, her heart starts to beat faster, breaking for her partner, for her dear friend. His lips are shaking, his brow furrowed, his eyes closed tightly, but none of those things makes Ladybug's chest actually physically ache. What does, however, is the single tear streaming down Chat's cheek. Soon it is joined by another, accompanied by a heartbreaking sound that could only be a muffled sob. He hangs his head low and covers it with his hands while Ladybug tries to think of something (anything, really) to say or do to stop this, to make him feel better. He's crying. Chat Noir, her flirtatious partner who can always think of a joke to share with the world is crying. Tears are streaming down his face as he tries to suppress a series of heart shattering sobs.

"Minou," says Ladybug softly, reaching out her hand to his face, still covered with his hands. At the sound of the nickname Ladybug gave him, he drops his hands to his sides and smiles a little through the tears. She tries to return the smile while wiping away the tears from his face with her thumbs. Ladybug's heart breaks again and again for this boy. She would do anything in the world just to bring that playful smile back on his face. She cups his face with both hands and looks him right in the eye.

"Please," she starts, her voice thick with emotion, "please, Chat, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong." He says nothing so she continues: "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything, anything at all. You can tell me what bothers you, what made you sad. You can tell me anything. When you need help, all you have to do is ask because, Chat, I'm here for you. I…" there is so much more she wants to say, much more she wants him to know but this is all she manages to say before her own eyes start to water. She's not quite sure what made her cry, why the tears keep streaming down her cheeks. All she knows is that she can't make it stop. Now they're both just a crying mess, holding on to each, trying to wipe each other's tears. This time it's her who initiates the hug, wrapping her hands around his neck tightly, pulling him incredibly close. They stay like that for a while, quietly holding each other. In this moment, no words are needed. They're there for each other and they both know it. After all, they're a team.

* * *

It takes a few minutes for them to calm down enough to speak. When they do, Ladybug asks Chat if he wants to sit down. He simply nods, still not quite trusting his voice. They sit town on the cold metal, their shoulders touching. Ladybug rests her head on Chat's shoulder, ready to listen to anything he has to say.

"It's my father," he says, "he's the one who made me feel like this. Sad. Miserable." He pauses, perhaps waiting for Ladybug to say something. But there's nothing she could say, not yet. She still doesn't know what exactly is the matter. So she remains silent and lets Chat talk instead. So he does.  
"My father is never there for me. All he cares about is his work. But that's fine, I got used to it. I learned not to expect anyting from him. I made that my rule number one: not to expect anything at all from my father. And today, I broke that one rule." Ladybug reachs for his hand, interweaving her fingers with his. He squeezes her hand as he continues.

"I was so naive, I was such an idiot. How could I think, even for one second, that he would want to spend Christmas with me. Me, his only son which turned out to be nothing more than a failure. A screw-up…" Ladybug wanted to let him finish his speech. She wanted to let him say everything at once. But when he declared he's a screw-up, she couldn't. She had to jump in.

"Chat," she says, her voice shaking. She turns over so that she's kneeling in front of him and forces him to look at her.

"Chat, listen," she commands, "you're not a screw-up. You're not a failure. You're… you're amazing, selfless, willing to sacrifice yourself for others. You save people's lives on daily basis, you put yourself at risk just to make sure the ones you care about are safe. Sometimes you're a bit reckless, for example when we fight against an akuma. I don't know how or even why, but you always take the hits instead of me. I don't like that. And I don't want you to do that anymore. I… but that's not what I meant to say. I just wanted you to know that you are not a failure in the slightest. I'm really sorry somebody made you feel that way, but you need to know it's not true. It's not true at all…" Her eyes are burning with tears again but she refuzes to let them fall.

"Thank you," he whispers barely audiable. Tears are threatening to fall from his eyes too, but he whipes them away. This is not a time for crying. It's Christmas. His Lady is right next to him. He should be happy. So he tries. He smiles and he keeps smiling even when she asks about the rest of his family. He says him mother is gone and he tries to play it cool. It's working for about two seconds, then he breaks into tears again. He didn't want to make her worry, he didn't want to bother her. When he came here, he just wanted to see her. He knew she'd be here, he knew it's her night to patrol. He didn't mean to cry. He didn't mean to let her know anything was wrong at all. But here he is, crying his heart out, murmuring something about how much he misses his mother. Ladybug just holds him tight, her shoulders shaking a little. Wait. Her shoulders are shaking? He pulls away from her and finds her eyes full of tears. Oh no. He did it again. He made his Lady cry. He opens his mouth to apologize but she speaks sooner, offering her own apology.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry," she says quietly, "I just… I can't even imagine how hard it must be for you. I… this…" What she wanted to say next will remain a mystery. She bites her lower lip, trying not to cry so hard. Chat brings her to him, hugging her tightly. This is not how he imagined their patrol tonight. He wanted to wish her a Merry Christmas, he wanted to give her the present. The present! He almost forgot.

"Ladybud," he whispers. She looks up at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Merry Christmas," he says with a mysterious smile and it makes her laugh. Then he reachs into one of the many pockets on his suit and pulls out something that looks like a necklace. He places it onto Ladybugs palm and when she sees the pawprint shaped pendant on a silver chain, she can't help but let out a wholehearted laugh. They really are two pieces of one whole. Even they're Christmas presents are matching.

"Thanks Kitty, it's beautiful," she says still smiling, "this way I'll have you with me everywhere I go." She tries to put the necklace on but struggles with it so Chat suggests he'll do it. He steps really close to her while fastening the necklace around her neck. They stand still for a few seconds just staring into each others eyes. Then Ladybug reluctantly takes a step back, saying she has something for him too. She unfastens the bracelet from around her wrist and hands it to Chat. This time it's his turn to laugh. Today isn't so bad after all.

"I think I should go," she breaths out. He can only hear her because he's standing so close. There's not much he can say in return so he just nods. She turns around and starts walking away, but he catches her hand and pulls her back to him. Now they're standing incredibly close to each other, closer tham they have ever before. Their noses are almost touching, if he just leaned in a little…

"Kitty, what…?" she starts, but whatever it was she wanted to ask dies in her throat as he leans in even more. She lets out a shaky breath only vaguely aware of what's about to hapen. When his lips finally meet hers, she's almost surprised. But she's quick to react, closing her eyes and cupping his face. She can't believe how incredibly soft his lips are or how incredibly good they feel against hers. Never in her life did she imagine kissing Chat Noir. Well, kissing him again. But that kiss on Valentine's day does not count. It was not sweet, it was not filled with emotion. It meant nothing. It was nothing like the kiss they share now. The kiss ends all too soon, both Ladybug and Chat breathing heavily. Chat is the firs to speak.

"I guess I'll see you soon then," he says and then walks away, leaving Ladybug awestruck and breathless.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon," she says to noone at particular, the words just somehow leaving her mouth. She has just kissed Chat Noir, her partner, her… well she cannot really call him a friend anymore, can she?

* * *

 **Well, here you go. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.**


End file.
